Syracuse closes out home schedule on Tuesday

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Virginia guards Joe Harris (12), London Perrantes (23), and Malcolm Brogdon (15) celebrate on the bench in the final seconds against the Syracuse Orange at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers won 75-56 and clinched the ACC regular season title. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

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Syracuse sophomore forward Jerami Grant, left, drives to the basket in a game against Clemson last month. Grant has missed the second half of Syracuse’s last two games with a bad back.(Photo: Rich Barnes, USA TODAY Sports)

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The Orange face Georgia Tech in their final home game

A back injury has limited SU sophomore forward Jerami Grant to 13 minutes in each of the past two games

More than 20,000 fans will come to the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night to say goodbye and thanks to seniors C.J. Fair and Baye Moussa Keita in their final home game for Syracuse University, but all eyes will be on Jerami Grant, the sophomore forward who has been limited to 13 minutes in each of the last two games due to a back injury.

How much will Grant play against Georgia Tech? Will the Orange shut him down for the final two regular-season games to try to make sure he's ready for the ACC Tournament? If he's out, who takes his spot in the lineup? Coach Jim Boeheim has options, but which does he favor?

"I think (Grant's) back is really bothering him," Keita told the Syracuse Post-Standard after Saturday's 75-56 loss at Virginia, which moved up to fifth in the national polls while the Orange dropped to No. 7. "I've told him, 'Don't force it. Just play when you're 100 percent comfortable.' I'd rather have him 100 percent, than like 75 percent any day."

Without Grant, SU isn't the same team that started 25-0 and rose to No. 1 in the country. He's the Orange's top rebounder (6.7 per game) and third-leading scorer (11.8), but his aggressiveness in rebounding and blocking shots is immeasurable.

"He's so talented and he's one of those guys that can make stuff happen on the offensive glass," said Virginia coach Tony Bennett, who coached Grant on USA Basketball's Under-19 world champion team last year. "He blocks shots, slashes. So when he couldn't play in the second half, it makes them adjust and they lose a high-level player … That really had an effect. It would be like us losing one of our top players."

The Orange (26-3, 13-3) have lost three of their last four, a slide that is similar to last year when they dropped four of the five final regular-season games before their stunning run to the Big East Tournament championship game and Final Four. Georgia Tech has lost six of its last seven games and four straight, but it has four players who average in double figures.

Earning a high enough seed to play its first two NCAA Tournament games down the Thruway in Buffalo still seems a certainty. But to secure a spot in the East Region that would take SU to Madison Square Garden for the Sweet 16, if it advanced, has become a much shakier situation unless the Orange do well at the ACC Tournament.

Boeheim termed Grant's status as "day to day" on Monday's ACC conference call with reporters. He said Grant "tweaked" his back in SU's Feb. 22 loss at Duke but was able to play through it. Grant had 17 points and six rebounds in that 66-60 loss. He scored just four points in a win at Maryland and none at Virginia.

"Nothing's structurally wrong, but his back is sore," Boeheim said.

Without Grant, Boeheim went mostly with sophomore Michael Gbinije, who is only two inches shorter than the 6-foot-8 Grant but is a totally different player, especially on defense at the bottom of SU's 2-3 zone. Gbinije's natural position is guard and he's not a rebounding threat like Grant, who Boeheim said earlier this year was SU's best offensive rebounder since Carmelo Anthony. Opposing defenses must account for where Grant is when a shot is released for fear that he'll slam home the rebound.

With Gbinije in there, SU is a much smaller team. Boeheim also experimented with a bigger lineup on Saturday, using the 6-10 Keita and 6-9 Rakeem Christmas, who usually split time at center. Tyler Roberson, a highly touted 6-8 freshman in the mold of Fair, also scored five points in the final 3½ minutes.

Prior to the Virginia game, Roberson had seen the floor in just 47 minutes in ACC play.

"I think he's made some strides," Boeheim said. "I think it's been a tough process for him, but I think he definitely has made some strides. We'll see moving forward what his contributions can be."

Syracuse forward C.J. Fair, left, fights for the ball against Maryland guard Nick Faust (5) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014, in College Park, Md. Fair was called for a foul on the play. Syracuse won 57-55. Nick Wass AP